Facebook (FB) Stock Up as Analysts Weigh In

Facebook (FB) shares gain as analysts weigh in on the social network's traffic and mobile ad growth.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Facebook (FB) were gaining 3.8% to $81.43 Thursday following notes from analysts discussing the social network's traffic and mobile ad growth.

In a note to investors, JPMorgan analyst Dough Anmuth cited comScore data indicating that Facebook core services accounted for 24% of all U.S. smartphone activity in April, up from 22% in March. All other social networks including Snapchat, Twitter (TWTR), and Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp combined to account for 5% of smartphone activity in April.

Facebook's core services on desktop and mobile accounted for 19% of all U.S. Internet time in April, according to comScore's data.

"Facebook remains our top pick in 2015 as we believe it's still early in monetizing Facebook's base of 1.4B users and the company is building other strong franchises in Instagram, Messenger, & WhatsApp," Anmuth wrote.

JPMorgan reiterated its "overweight" rating and $100 price target for the social network.

Morgan Stanley analysts also commented on Facebook's performance, highlighting that the company drove one third of all U.S. digital as growth for the fifth straight quarter, according to Business Insider. Facebook is seeing accelerated growth while mobile ad growth is slowing, according to Morgan Stanley analysts.

"Facebook - with its still-low pricing, industry leading reach and cross-platform targeting - is the main beneficiary and driver of the continued movement of ad dollars onto mobile," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.

Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:

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